DHAKA, May 18, 2025 (BSS)- "The same neighbor who once covered her curry pot to avoid sharing a little food, I ended up lending her Tk 40,000 for her daughter’s wedding," said Hamida Akhter Beauty in an emotional voice, narrating her journey of change.

 Beauty, a resident of Lichubagan in old Kasba of Jashore, is just one of many women whose lives have transformed against all odds.

Beauty is the sixth among her parents' eight children. She studied only up to the 5th grade and got married at the age of 13 to a legal assistant named Moniruzzaman Hiron.

Just five months after their marriage, her husband left her while she was pregnant.

A year later, he returned, but by then he had become a drug addict and was unemployed.

With no other option, Beauty took on the responsibility of the household and started working as a housemaid. Later, through much effort, she secured a job at a local clinic with a salary of Tk 3,800. She worked there for eight years.

All the household expenses fell on her shoulders, while her husband would only contribute money occasionally.

Balancing work and managing the household was extremely difficult for Beauty.
 
Seeing her struggles, her elder sister advised her to start a clothing business and lent her Tk 10,000.

She took Beauty to Poradah in Kushtia, from where she began bringing sarees, lungis, three-piece suits, and bed sheets every week to sell from home.

During this time, she also became a member of a local awareness group under Environment and Development (IED).

 Joining Institute for Environment and Development (IED) awareness team, Beauty received support to expand her business.

 With help accessing bank loans, she now brings goods worth at least Tk 50,000 weekly and earns around Tk 40,000 in profit per month. Her business capital is now about Tk 10 lakh.  She recently married off her daughter with a gala ceremony.

Living in a rented house in Kazipara of Jashore, Honufa Khatun is now a well-known cloth trader and also serves as the president of IED’s women's group.

 She joined IED in 2005 through an entrepreneurship training programme.

 With her husband running a small tea stall, they often faced poverty. Honufa began by sewing a saree for Tk 150 and used the earnings to buy more supplies and expand her sewing work.

 She gradually started selling embroidered sarees, three-piece, and bedcovers from home. Today, her monthly sales exceed Tk 50,000, and she earns around Tk 15,000 in profit.

Honufa supports her family, including her son who studies at Jashore University of Science and Technology and her daughter who is preparing for medical college.

Honufa also actively helps other women become self-reliant and advocates for social services like allowances for widows, the elderly, and the disabled.

The eldest of eight siblings, Razia was married off at 13 while in 6th grade.

After becoming a mother, she returned to school and passed her SSC exam in 1989. Later, she trained in sewing through IED and started with just Tk 2,350 saved from tutoring. She began with embroidery and handcrafted quilts, which quickly gained popularity.

Razia now runs a thriving business involving saree decoration, poultry farming, a grocery shop, and a cattle farm. She owns land and a home in Lichubagan and has helped her son start his own business.

 For her achievements, Razia received the National Urban Development Award from the LGRD ministry.

Not just Beauty, Honufa, or Razia-countless other women have also become self-reliant and entrepreneurs, standing on their own feet. The economic condition of their families has transformed; they are also playing active roles in various development activities within their families and communities.